How would you improve YouTube Video Comments Feature?

Improving the YouTube comments feature requires a structured approach to ensure that the solution aligns with user needs and platform goals. Here is one such approach.

Step 1: Clarify Scope and Define Metrics

Clarification:

• What does improvement mean in this context? Are we focusing on increasing engagement, enhancing the quality of discussions, reducing toxicity, or all of the above?
• Can I choose a primary goal? Let’s assume the interviewer agrees, and the goal is to increase meaningful engagement while reducing negative experiences caused by spam or toxic comments.

Primary Metric:

• Engagement with comments: Likes, replies, and time spent reading and interacting with comments.
• Sentiment analysis: Percentage of positive vs. negative comments.
• Reduction in harmful content: Fewer reported or flagged comments.

Step 2: Identify Key User Groups and Their Needs

YouTube has diverse users who interact with the comments feature differently:

Creators:

• • Want constructive feedback and encouragement.
  • Need to manage and moderate their comment sections efficiently.
  • Aim to increase engagement on their videos through discussions.

Engaged Viewers:

• • Participate actively in discussions, seeking conversations that align with their views.
  • Expect a clean, relevant comment section to engage with like-minded users.

Passive Viewers:

• • Occasionally browse comments for entertainment or context but don’t contribute.
  • Value seeing the most relevant or interesting comments without much effort.

Trolls/Spammers:

• • Generate low-quality, harmful, or irrelevant comments. These users undermine the experience for others.

Step 3: Pain Points

Creators:

• Struggle to filter spam and hate speech manually.
• Lack tools to spotlight meaningful comments or top contributors.
• Sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer volume of comments.

Engaged Viewers:

• Encounter irrelevant, offensive, or spammy comments that discourage participation.
• Difficulty finding high-quality discussions due to poor sorting algorithms.

Passive Viewers:

• May be deterred by a cluttered or toxic comment section.
• Waste time scrolling through low-value comments.

Step 4: Potential Improvements

Here are three ideas to improve YouTube’s comments feature, evaluated on impact and implementation effort:

1. Smart Moderation (AI-Driven Filtering)

Description:

• • Use AI to filter out spam, hate speech, and harmful comments in real-time.
  • Allow creators to set custom rules (e.g., block certain keywords or prioritize positive feedback).

Impact:

• • High: Reduces toxicity and makes comment sections more inviting for both creators and viewers.

Implementation Cost:

• • Medium: Requires significant development for AI training and moderation workflows.

Downside: Potential risk of over-filtering legitimate comments, which could discourage engagement.

2. Comment Highlighting and Sorting

Description:

• • Introduce a “top comments” feature powered by engagement metrics and sentiment analysis.
  • Allow creators to pin insightful comments or auto-highlight frequent contributors and verified users.

Impact:

• • High: Encourages quality discussions by surfacing constructive comments and rewarding engaged users.

Implementation Cost:

• • Low-Medium: Relies on existing engagement and sorting algorithms with some enhancements.

Downside: Could reinforce echo chambers if not carefully balanced.

3. Private Replies and Direct Discussions

Description:

• • Allow users to respond privately to comments, creating direct but moderated discussion threads.
  • Introduce “creator feedback” mode, where creators can privately reply to top comments.

Impact:

• • Medium: Facilitates deeper conversations without cluttering the main comment section.

Implementation Cost:

• • Medium: Requires building private conversation infrastructure and moderation tools.

Downside: Could lead to misuse if not carefully monitored.

Step 5: Recommended Solution

Based on the evaluation, I recommend starting with Smart Moderation and Comment Highlighting for the following reasons:

1. They address the biggest pain points for creators and viewers—spam, hate speech, and low-quality comments.
2. They have high potential for meaningful engagement without drastically altering user behavior.
3. They provide a scalable foundation for future features, like private replies.

MVP Proposal:

1. Implement AI-driven filtering with customizable moderation settings for creators.
2. Add a “Featured Comments” section, prioritizing top contributors and comments based on sentiment and engagement.

Practice Questions